Scott Dunlap's blog of trail running, ultrarunning, triathlon, and other life adventures. I enjoy the physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of outdoor events and the chance to meet cool people. This blog contains interviews, research, original fiction, new product ideas, and all things trail running.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Product Idea - T-shirt with iPod Headphone Cord Guides

Have you ever made "mods" to products you have purchased? Like sewing in a key pocket on your favorite running hat? Or maybe adding soft rubber to the ends of your sunglasses so they stay in place? It seems like I'm always making some sort of modification to my favorite shirts, shoes, etc. Not that the products are bad, mind you - it most cases they fit like a glove, and I understand a lot of design work went into making that happen. But often the product seems to be missing that one extra thing.

I'm going to add some entries to the blog called "Products I Would Like to See", in hopes that by sharing some field-tested ideas, some forward-thinking company will PLEASE MAKE THESE PRODUCTS! So Nike, Adidas, New Balance, North Face, Mountain Hardwear, and the rest of you, listen up - this is free customer feedback (and probably worth every cent you paid for it)!

You guys know I'm a huge fan of the iPod for trail running. Trail running is one of the few sports that encourages the use of an iPod, even during events. I just have one problem - the headphone cord that seems to magically grab itself on every passing branch, causing an instant "ear-ectomy". Not to mention that one out of three times your headphones get a yank like that, they don't work for crap afterwards. So I'm looking to a cheaper part of the ensemble - the t-shirt - to help out.

The idea is to have two mods to the back of your favorite t-shirt. First, a velcro loop right below the neckline that can quickly secure your headphone cord behind you. This would make sure you have enough "slack" to turn your head, but not so much slack that your cord is whipping around. By keeping it close to the center of your back, the cord has less of a chance of getting caught on passing branches.

The second addition would be a "sleeve" that runs down the arm to wear most people wear their iPod when exercising. This would keep the cord close to the body, and be a super-cool fashion statement. Well, to fellow running geeks anyway. ;-) A similar sleeve could run down the center of the back for those who carry their iPods in a fanny pack, belt, or shorts pocket.

I've tried the velcro attachment (yes, dudes can sew!) and it worked pretty well. It had the added feature of holding my headphones when I wasn't using them (I just took off my headphones, reached behind me, then gave the cord a tug, like a wetsuit zipper leash). Total weight - 2 grams. Total cost - 20 cents, plus 30 minutes of labor.

My suggested vendor for this product idea is Mountain Hardwear.

I have a lot of t-shirts (don't we all?), but always seem to reach for the form-fitting Mountain Hardwear shirts when it comes time to race. Plus Mountain Hardwear has limited offerings on iPod-related products.

There are alternatives to the hiding the headphone cord, but they have limitations. Logitech makes a wireless headphone for iPod, but the headphones are pretty bulky for running, and cost ($149) as much as the iPod itself. There are also t-shirts with pockets for your iPod, such as the ShuffleShirt or ScotteVest, but I will tell you, it's hard to run if your iPod is loosely dangling in your sleeve. It's better to have it snug against your body somehow. Perhaps the iPod Nano is small enough that the weight isn't an issue, but to date, none of the shirt-with-iPod-pockets have worked for me when running.

So that's the idea. If you have other mod ideas, let me know and link to them! I'm sure the product designers at our favorite co's would love it.

I, like Emma, run with the cord inside my shirt if wearing short sleeves. However, women have an advantage here. When in short sleeves or no shirt, I let the cord dangle down my back (inside the shirt, if present), thread it up the center/back of my sports bra, and secure the twin "last-mile" sections of cord under the bra's shoulder straps before inserting the earbuds. When in long sleeves, I still do the shoulder strap bit. Either way, this keeps the cord neatly in place, where it essentially never catches on branches.

If you made the tube going down your sleeve out of some sort of stretchy material that laid almost flat against the tshirt material, it would be fairly easy to feed the headphone cord down the tube and would also be held in place securely.

Don't know much about the material, but it's some sort of "performance" T. Scottevest has come out with a shirt very similar to the one you described in the post. It's called their SeV performance T Shirt

Hi,I know this post started a whole year-and-a-half ago, but what the heck...Here's a shirt that solves the problem too (not exactly like your description but does the job), and it's not too expensive either - $30. See it at www.malachiandcompany.com. It's called the SyncWear mp3 fitness shirt, and it's made for iPod nanos.

There is a new iPod T-SHIRTS line with INTEGRATED earphones and a pocket for your MP3 player. You can unplug the upper part with the earphones and wash the thread with the t-shirt.Look at the italian Music and Sons line:http://www.musicandsons.it

Though they are many T-shirts that serves the purpose better your idea is a different one. Though the blutooth head phones are more comfortable they are as expensive as ipod. I really appreciate your idea.We had a wireless stero headphones which are cheaper compared to bluetooth fallow the below link for that.===================================macmillan

the idea given by you for the T-shirt with iPod Headphone Cord Guides is very nice. it will be very comfortable for the people who often use iPod.***********************************hellanwireless stereo headphones

I usually just tack my wire down with a safety pin on the outside of my shirt. It works better than the little clip my headphones came with. The same pins that you pin your race numbers on with work great and you don't need a special shirt. Of course if you go shirtless, I would consider getting your nipples pierced so you can have a hitch ring to connect to.

About Me

I'm a technology entrepreneur who took up trail running and triathloning back in 2001 to get off the work treadmill and see a bit more of the outdoors. I also love to eat, so the exercise helps me justify those extra helpings. ;oP I'm always interested in learning more about trail running - please comment and link away!

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